The Benedict Collection was originally called University of Nevada’s Contemporary Issues Collection and it was founded and
curated by Russell G. Benedict. He collected periodicals, clippings, pamphlets, brochures and books focusing on the Civil
Rights Movement, organized labor activities anti-Communist groups and extremist groups on either side of the political spectrum
who targeted particular racial or religious groups or activities in hate literature and/or violent actions. His goal was to
broaden the education of the university's students about the essential nature and broad implications of freedom of speech,
freedom of association, and political activism. He wrote letters to extremist groups such as the Wide Awake Anti-Communist
Crusade to the Cossack Combatants Association requesting literature for students; that he was a “dissatisfied old man, aiding
students to be more accurately informed, more vigilant, and more worthily out-spoken”.

Background

The Benedict Collection was originally called University of Nevada’s Contemporary Issues Collection and it was founded and
curated by Russell G. Benedict. He had worked in Los Angeles as a business representative for the International Association
of Machinists for many years and moved to Nevada in the late 1940s where he wrote a column on labor unions for a northern
Nevada labor paper. He began the collection in the early 1960s after having been approached by the library director, Dave
Heron, and offered a volunteer position in the library.
In March, 1980 the complete Benedict Collection was acquired as a gift donation from the University of Nevada Reno by CSUF.
Mr. Benedict had been in declining health and his eyesight was failing which precluded him from continuing to work on the
collection. The University of Nevada, Reno sought a more appropriate home for the collection because its focus did not fall
within the local history emphasis of UNR's Special Collections Department's collection policy.

Extent

294 Document boxes and 9 lateral file drawers

Restrictions

Property rights reside with the California State University, Fullerton University Archives and Special Collections. No part
of an audio tape or manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the University Archives and
Special Collections, California State University, Fullerton. Requests for permission to quote from these materials should
be addressed to: California State University, Fullerton University Archives and Special Collections 800 N. State College,
PLS-352 Fullerton, CA 92834-3599, (657) 278-3444. Permission requests for photograph use can be made by the completion of
an Application for use-images form.